The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-17
Parties and Principles.

tions of any reorganization of existing
parties, and there will be in the field
next year the republican, democratic,
prohibition and labor parties, and none
other, unless the mugwumps conclude
to flock by themselves. In our whole
national history there have been only
four political parties of importance
enough to contend against each other
for the control of the government. All
others have been merely disturbing
elements in the political field, though
they have exercised some influence
either for good or evil upon the great
political parties and national affairs.
The two great parties-the republican
and the emocratic-represent more or
less perfectly the two great tendencies
which have from the first contended
for the mastery. Each represents GER
tain fundamental principles and poll
cies. New parties can only spring up
out Of agitation of primary ideas, moral
or political, but the new ideas may not
be of such transcendent Importance as
to give vitality and substantial growth
to new party, or it may be found that
the results sought to be attained will
be accomplished as easily or more
surely through existing parties.
We do not often find this question
so logically discussed as by a writer in
the american Magazine. Referring 10
George William Curtis recent declara-
ton that -" the great parties are now
mainly shadows of great names, and
represent no definite or distinct policy
upon any of the existing questions"
this writer remarks: Parties have
not changed much since 1884, and at
the presidential election of that year
9712 per cent of the entire popular
vote was cast for the candidates of the
two great parties. Is it true that these
more than nine and three-quarters
millions of electors followed simply
the shadows of great Names and
didn't believe in any definite and
distinct policy upon any of the existing
questions?' Why, policy is as es-
sential to the continuance of a political
party as the health is to the life of the
human body. The two great parties
have as definite and distinct policies
upon the existing questions of the day
as parties ever had. Two fundamental
ideas of government have been con-
tending for the supremacy ever since
our existence as nation began, and
the people of this country are just as
sharply divided on that question to-day
as they were in the early years of the
century" Local and temporary in
terests have always caused political
leaders to swerve from the fundamental
principles of their party, but to these
all return at last.
Now the tariff is one of the existing
questions, and both of the great parties
have definite and distinct policies upon
that. 1t is not true that both parties
are cat sea" on this question be-
cause all republicans are not protec-
tionists and all democrats free traders,
the fact being that ninety per cent of
republicans favor tariff for protection
and an equally large proportion of
democrats favor free-trade or practically
its equivalent-a tariff for revenue only.
The writer referred to-Mr. Richmond
Walker-alludes to the three questions
upon which Mr.. Curtis thinks the great
parties are destitute of 6 definite and
distinct policies " as civil service re-
form, temperance and the labor ques-
ton, and thus comments: "These
issues, while they are individually of
great importance, are not of such a
character as to make it possible for
them to become the bases for the
division between great parties" Both
democrats and republicans are divided
to such an extent in their views on
civil service reform and temperance
that we doubt if there is a sufficient
number in either party holding pre-
cisely the same opinions on these ques-
tions to form an organization that
would be effective for the accomplish
ment of desired result. So far as the
labor question is concerned, all parties
have demanded fair play for the
working-men. The mistake of Mr.
Curtis and others is in supposing il
possible for the branch to become the
root or trunk of the tree. "The
former may be grated from one stock
to another, or be Topped off, but the
tree remains the same. SO when anti,
Masonry, know-nothingism, greenback,
ism and civil service reform occupies
the attention of the people the lines OF
division are very likely not to be
identical with those which separate the
great parties, and popular interest il
such issues may turn the voters in one
direction or another for time; but il
the end they come back to the funda
mental principles, only one or two Of
which we have mentioned, upon which
parties in this country have always